Practice Makes Perfect

Tyler skipped his nap today. At least, I'm pretty sure he did. I sent him upstairs about 1:15pm, and at about 1:45pm, he came down stairs, all bright-eyed, loud, and happy. I knew he couldn't have slept. I sent him back upstairs, and checked on his 30 minutes later. Still awake. By this time, he just needed to get up, because I'd have to wake him soon to go pick up Vincent.

So, he got up and we tooled around a bit until it was time to get Vincent. I actually lost track of time, and almost forgot to go get him!

Tonight, while David went to karate, I had each boy take a bath. Tyler went first, and as he bathed, Vincent and I sat in the bathroom with him, practicing Taiwanese phonics. I thought he did pretty well, actually. Then, I sent Tyler upstairs to get ready for bed while Vincent took a bath. I had Tyler go to bed early since he didn't nap. 

As I was helping Vincent after his bath, I asked him if he's excited for another baby brother. This was our conversation:

Vincent: "I don't know. It's going to be pretty crazy. Like, when the baby turns Tyler's age right now, he'll be so crazy." (I guess, he thinks Tyler's pretty crazy right now.)

Me: "Well, it will be pretty crazy around the house as soon as the baby is born."

Vincent: "I can help you with the baby."

Me: "Yeah? What kind of things do you think you can help us do?"

Vincent: "Oh, like help you feed baby, hold him, or whatever else you want. You just tell me what you want me to do."

Me: "Baby will be a little too small for you to hold right away. You may need to practice a bit by holding Buster or Stella."

And, so, Vincent practiced holding Stella tonight. He was trying to figure out how to pick her up, but I placed her on his lap. She was tense at first, but settled in quickly.

 

Guess Which Hunt This Is

Heeheehee! This one wanted me to take a picture of his nose. What a cute nose it is.

Back To It

Woop woop! School is back in session. For Vincent, at least. Tyler spent his day with me. He had gymnastics at 9:30am, which he was pretty excited for. I also signed him up for the daycare at the gym so I can try to get back to exercising a little more consistently. Since he started his gymnastics class, I've only been going once a week, and it's just not enough. I figured even a 30 minute, light workout is better than nothing.

Ty apparently spent the whole hour eating his snack. I had packed him a pretty large snack, knowing we'd be at the gym up until lunch time. This is what he ate: 1/2 cup of pretzel sticks, 2 tablespoons of hummus, 6 green olives, a small apple, a satsuma orange, and a bag of veggie sticks. He said he was still hungry, and was looking forward to lunch on our way home. He requested chicken (which I actually had). He never got it. He dosed off on the ride home, and allowed me to carry him up to bed. When he got up from his nap, I taught him to make a cheese quesadilla. He loved it, and enjoyed eating it, too.

As for Vincent, he was happy when I picked him up from school. He told me that he borrowed a ninja book from the library. "It's the second book of the ninja book I have," he said. Tyler was so excited to see Vincent, and told Vincent about a dream he had during nap. Vincent didn't realize Tyler was talking to him until I said something. He said, "Tyler, I can't hear you because you're too far away." I moved Tyler over next to Vincent and they held hands as they walked home, and Tyler recalled his dream to us. It was so sweet and cute, the two of them. After a quick snack for Vincent, they both ran upstairs to play together before karate. Vincent even took the initiative to get dressed on his own.

Karate went well. The studio is hosting a "Parents Night Out" on Friday. I went ahead and signed the boys up for it. When Vincent was done with class, he ran up to me with the flyer, asking if they could attend the event. I loved being able to tell him that they are already signed up. As I drove home, Vincent thanked me. That felt good.

David went to karate tonight, too. After I cleaned up from dinner, I went upstairs to see what the boys were up to. They had built this Angry Birds game with the stuffies Uncle Peter had given them for Christmas and some Mega Bloks. They were so proud! And, when it was time to clean up, they made no fuss. I let them sit in a bubble bath and play for about 30 minutes before ending the night with a little T.V.

Last Day of Winter Break

Vincent's holiday break is at it's close today. I guess it's all of ours, but Tyler's been going to school here and there the past 2 weeks. Nonetheless, it's bittersweet. 

I've enjoyed the extra time I've had with Vincent, especially the few one-on-one times together. I've also enjoyed seeing the boys bond and play together. It progressively got better, nicer and sweeter as the holiday went on. David and I feel we can truly say that our boys are best friends (for now).

I am happy to get back on a regular schedule. The boys do well with routine, and Vincent loves going to school and being around his friends. He's so social. Tyler can get back to his activities as well.

Speaking of activities, swim lessons started back up today! Vincent is now in, what I call, "big kid" swim class. It's a mixed age of 6-16 years old. Of course, they divide them up by skill level. Vincent jumped into the pool with his buddy, Julian, but was quickly moved over to the less skilled group after a quick "test." He tried so hard, and I'm so proud of him for that.

Both boys did well in class today, and were nice and hungry afterwards (even though they did have lunch).

Let me back track slightly...this morning, even though I no longer work at the creamery, I found myself down at Pike Place Market bright and early for a breakfast date with Andrea. It great, actually. We had crumpets and chai tea. Yum. While I was away, David decided to take the kids to U Village. They walked there! I was very impressed. He got them to go there by saying they were going to the Apple store. Clever man. I met them there, and we had a bite to eat, then headed to swim.

The rest of our day was pretty standard. Rest, play, dinner, wind down for the night. We did give the kids each a shower and let them finish "Captain America" that we started the last night. Tyler opted not to finish, so I took him upstairs and we played and read together. 

When the boys were off to sleep, David and I settled down for the Season 3 premiere of "Downton Abby." Two hours long. Whew!

Woops! No Chinese School Today...

This morning, David set us an alarm. We all worked hard to get us out of the house quickly. For the first time since September, we were not rushed. Class starts at 9am, and I pulled up to the school at 8:36am. So proud...and disappointed to see that the parking lot was completely empty, and the lights of the buildings were all off. Surely people would be here already if there was class, right?

Wrong. I thought for sure that Vincent had to go back to Chinese school this morning. I think I may have even glanced at the schedule last night, but it didn't quite register to me that the "1/5" was part of the winter break dates, and I just assumed that it was when he'd go back. I should have glanced further to see the part about "1/12". I've spent the last 3 days catching Vincent up on his homework, and trying to refresh his memory on the phonics and such.

Okay, improvise. I was giving David the morning off, so it would suck of I brought the kids back home. I decided to take them to Bellevue Square, figuring it would be a ghost town at this hour. It was pretty quiet, but upstairs in the play area, there were already kids running about. And, more showing up every few minutes. Nonetheless, the boys played and got to blow off a little energy. We ate a small snack, and then I took them shopping. A pair of new sneakers for each them from Puma, a pair of "uniform" pants for Vincent for Chinese school, and a pair of "comfy" pants for Vincent. I promised Vincent a stop into the Microsoft store, which we did, and then we stopped at Lego to see the new sets that just came out this week.

When we got home, David was making us all lunch. Sweet.

This afternoon, David had the good idea of taking the kids to the pool. They did great! Both boys now seems to enjoy jumping into the water, especially Vincent. It's surprising how hesitant they've been about this. And, Tyler can now, just barely, touch the bottom on the pool with his feet! Vincent loves to wear his goggles and stick his head in the water. Neither can really swim, yet, but Vincent is getting close. He hasn't figured out coordinating swimming with breathing, yet.

Dinner tonight was a lasagna I made with kale, truffled formage blanc, pork ragu, and shredded jack cheese. It was dee-lish!

Another movie night after dinner. We started "Captain America." Seemed like the least intense of the superhero movies...sort of. Not really. 

Finally, here's me at 25 weeks...brushing my teeth.

Me & My Boys

I took the boys to the gym this morning. Tyler was so excited to go there with Vincent. The were one of the few kids there this morning, but certainly not the calmest. Our all-time favorite caretaker, Nicole, has recently left. She's gone to the Bellevue location as it works better for her schedule. I'm so bummed. She and I were pregnant together 4 years ago. She's a wonderful lady. She's been replaced with a gal named, Laura. She's alright, but today was our first day meeting her. We'll see. She's not as warm as Nicole, but seems nice enough.

After the gym, I decided to fatten us all up with lunch at Lunchbox Laboratory. David met us there. It was our first time ever going there. The place has been around a few years now, but truthfully, I've been a bit hesitant to eat there because they're known for some crazy burgers...and messy. I like a good, basic cheeseburger. Sometimes with mushrooms, sometimes with bacon, but mostly just cheese, ketchup, maybe a pickle...lettuce and tomato make it on my burger sometimes, too. David ordered their most standard, but even that was more than I wanted. So, I built my own: bun, meat, sauteed onions. I went out on a limb with those onions, and skipped cheese. I felt like I should still be able to get a good sense of what their basic burger's like with this combination. 

It was okay. The sauteed onions were flavorless. The meat was dry. The bun was very nice, though. They do have some yummy skinny fries and tater tots. I also ordered truffled mayo on the side. That was okay, too. Quinn's burger is still my top burger in Seattle. And, by mid-afternoon, I had some pretty bad heartburn.

After I got over my heartburn and the kids had rested a bit, I needed to give boys something to do. Vincent didn't want to go out. (Oh, by the way, Vincent woke Tyler from his nap. Amazingly, Tyler didn't make a fuss like he normally does for me or David.) I decided that they needed to get outside a little, or I suggested Tyler put on his jacket and shoes and play in the sandbox. He loved the idea!

It didn't take long for Vincent to decide he wanted to join him. Thank goodness. They made a bit of a mess, but were happy. After a while, they decided to run around the yard a bit. Even better! It didn't last too long, but all this allowed me to get some of dinner made. 

They both came bustling in when they were done, complaining about being wet and dirty. This called for a bath! I drew them a bubble bath, gave them each these plastic margarita shakers I got from Chili's years ago (and never used) when I used to work there, and let them play. They were, again, so happy together. I loved it.

When they were done, I was still working on dinner, so I put a movie on for them. Toy Story. Funny thing is that I did all this because I needed to keep them busy so I could make dinner. But, to them, I might have been pretty nice today. Or, at least, I like to think that they're thinking that of me.

Tonight's dinner was chicken Marsala and butternut squash risotto. Yum, and yum.

 

The boys didn't finish the movie earlier, so we let them watch the rest after dinner. Immediately, Tyler shouts, "Okay! I'll help make the popcorn!" Okay, then.

Free 1st Thursday: MOHAI

The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) used to be near our house. It closed some time last year (2012), and reopened this past Saturday. We had free tickets to go, but ended up sledding. Vincent and I had this morning free together. I originally thought I'd take him to the King Tut exhibit that he and I have been wanting to go to for the longest time. It's been in Seattle since May of 2012, and it ends this weekend. We had all this time, and didn't go, and now tickets are almost sold out. The best time I could find is Saturday at 8:15pm. Nope. Not for me.

So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that today MOHAI would be having their first "First Thursday" free admission day. Woohoo! Of course, since school's still not back in session, many others had the same fabulous plan as I did. Nonetheless, it was a good time. I look forward to going back on another day when it's less crowded to really explore the exhibits. I tried to read him some of the stuff, but he had a hard time following. I think he must've been overwhelmed by the crowd. I know I was. He was amazed at what he saw when we first walked in, as the foyer is pretty grand. We ate a nice little snack we packed together in the cafe, then headed for Pike Place Market.

I found a great 30 minute spot in front of Starbucks, which was about all the time we'd have anyway. I tell you, though, tourists are pretty clueless. I know, I would be, too, in a different place, but c'mon, does the guy need to have his suitcases on the street, in a prime parking spot, rather than on the sidewalk? And, when he saw my car backing up feet from him, could he move? Oh well. At least, I got a spot. 

When we got out of the car, Vincent asked, "Mmmmm, what is that yummy smell?" Well, my friend, that would be Piroshky Piroshky. I first had one of their tasty treats 4 years ago when David and I took a "babymoon" before Tyler was born. I was very excited to introduce Vincent to it. I told him we'd swing back around after we pick up the money from his raffle tickets sales to my (ex)manager at Mt. Townsend Creamery. Right after we left the creamery, he immediately said, "Mommy, let's just go get one of those yummy smelling things now." Alrighty then! He got a cheese roll, and I got a beef and cheese piroshky. Oh man it was good. Piping hot! We found some public seating inside and enjoyed. I also got each boy a puff pastry stick with powdered sugar. 

Vincent was very excited to give Tyler all his "surprises" when we picked him up from school: a MOHAI sticker, the last couple pieces of dried mango we had, and the puff stick. Tyler was so happy we remembered to bring him something.

We dropped Vincent off at his friend, Jack's house for a play date, while Ty and I went home to rest.

After Vincent came home, Tyler was excited to show him the new Lego catalog that arrived in the mail today. They both sat down at the table to look through it together. Then, both boys played with their Leapsters for a short while, then started in on setting up a Lego battle. They played quietly and pretty nicely while I made dinner. When David got home, they stayed calm, as per my request, and asked if he'd battle with them. David agreed to do it after dinner.

And, so the battle commenced when we were done eating. It was sweet to see all three of them playing together and so happy.

David and I agreed last night that we would try to start bathing the kids daily. Yup, we don't bathe them daily still. I've been feeling more and more like it's necessary, especially with school now, but our evenings get so busy. Now, I want to make a real effort to get it done. I figured if we get in the habit now, we won't forget to do it at all after the baby is born! 

David took Tyler upstairs for a bath while Vincent and I worked on his Chinese homework. Then, I got Vincent in for a quick shower. He only protested slightly. More like wondered why he was getting another shower if he had one yesterday. I explained to him our reason, which he seemed fine with. We also talked about how he has to learn to take of his own body, including his eczema. His doctor said last week that if hasn't outgrown it by age 6, it'll likely be something he'll have to deal with even as an adult. I told him that he'll have to help us remember to lotion up after bathing, especially after baby arrives, since we'll have little sleep and be very busy. Sweet Vincent replied, "And, I can help you with the baby, too."